Mina couldn't sleep. Again. 

It was nothing new. She'd never slept well, even as a little girl. Too many thoughts in her head, too many worries about what tomorrow would bring. She'd tried everything over the years to try and help her doze off: meditation, white noise, counting sheep, every single recommendation on the Internet to beat insomnia, Mina had tried it at least once.

Only one thing had ever helped, and that was drinking tea. But in order to creep out into the kitchen and brew a pot, she needed to be very careful. If she woke Nayeon or Jihyo up, they'd fuss over her for being awake, and then drag her into bed with them to sleep. If she woke Sana up, she would skip the fussing and just curl up in Mina's bed with her until they fell asleep together. 

Mina smiled at the memory. It was an appealing option in a lot of ways, but Mina always felt guilty for disturbing them. So when she climbed out of bed, she put her years of ballet training to good use and tiptoed out of the bedroom without making a sound. 

Smiling triumphantly when none of her roommates stirred, Mina made her way into the kitchen. She went over to the teapot, and then jumped when she realised there was a figure sitting at the table. She clapped her hand over to muffle her scream, and glared at Dahyun, who looked just as surprised to see her. 

“Why are you sitting here in the dark?” Mina whispered. 

“Don't want to wake the others.” Dahyun whispered back. 

Well, Mina couldn't argue with that. She still wished Dahyun had waved or something, instead of just sitting and waiting until Mina noticed her and had a minor heart attack. 

“Can't sleep?”

“Not tonight.” Dahyun smiled sheepishly. “Don't know what's wrong with me, I normally conk out pretty easily.”

“Do you want some tea? That usually helps me.”

Dahyun hesitated, then nodded, giving Mina a grateful smile as she stood up and went to grab the mugs from the press. 

“So is this normal for you? Not being able to sleep?”

“I'm fine after I get some tea.” 

If Dahyun noticed her dodging the question, she didn't push. Mina was grateful. Not that her insomnia was a big secret, but she was embarrassed enough when her roommates fussed over her. 

They sat in companionable silence. It was a new experience for Mina. Drinking tea at 3am was normal, but never before in the dark, and with a friend. 

It was nice. 

By the time her cup was empty, with only the dregs remaining, Mina could feel the drowsiness kicking in. Dahyun saw her eyes drooping and smiled, reaching over to pat Mina's hand. 

“Sleep well Mina.”

Back in the bedroom, Mina fell asleep within five minutes. In the morning, Sana and Nayeon about the smile on her face when they woke her up. 

“Who were you dreaming about Minari?”

“No one.” Mina rolled her eyes fondly. “I just had a good night's sleep.”

Four nights later, insomnia struck again. This time, Mina was alone in the kitchen, the lights on and a warm cup of tea in front of her. Jasmine this time, as opposed to the mint tea she'd had with Dahyun. 

Footsteps made her tense up, but she relaxed as soon as she saw the disheveled mop of blonde hair poke its head into the kitchen. 

“Fancy meeting you here.” Mina grinned, as Dahyun shuffled in, slumping down on a chair next to her. “I thought you said you normally sleep well?”

“I do!” Dahyun's whine was adorable. “I don't know what's wrong with me lately.”

“Want some tea?”

“Please.” Dahyun fumbled around for a mug from the drainboard next to her, too exhausted to get up and root through the presses. 

Mina poured her some tea, tactfully not commenting on the cleanliness of Dahyun's mug. A few soap suds never killed anyone. 

“So why are you awake?” Dahyun asked, once she'd taken a good gulp of her tea. “Nightmares?”

“I don't really get nightmares.” Mina shrugged. ”Just couldn't sleep. Too many thoughts in my head.”

Dahyun hummed, taking another sip from her tea cup. Mina mirrored her, enjoying how the soothing heat seemed to warm her whole body. 

“Want to talk about it?” Dahyun asked. “I'm a good listener. Or at least, that's what Chaeyoung and Tzuyu tell me.”

Mina considered it for a moment, before shaking her head. Dahyun didn't seem upset, just nodded and took another sip of her tea. 

“Can you…” Mina paused, uncertain of what exactly she wanted from Dahyun. 

“If you want to drink alone I can go?” Dahyun suddenly looked concerned that she was intruding, and Mina rushed to reassure her. 

“No!” she flapped her hands. “No not at all. I was actually wondering if you'd talk to me.”

“About what?” Dahyun seemed confused. 

“Anything. Tell me about your day.”

Dahyun grinned, and Mina blushed. It was a silly request, she knew, when they spent all day together. But Dahyun was kind enough to humor Mina, and so she began to talk. 

“Well when I woke up today Chaeyoung was blasting a rap song at full volume. I couldn't exactly hear the lyrics through the bass but I believe it was something about girls being pretty and wanting to make love to them.”

“Ah yes.” Mina smirked. “Chaeyoung does love her… alternative music.”

“She's very tasteful.” Dahyun agreed, giggling a little while trying to keep a straight face. “So that was how my morning began. Then Momo came in and told Chaeyoung to turn the music down because it wasn't time to get up yet. But as we all know, Momo is about as intimidating as an angry baby ninety nine percent of the time. So Chaeyoung just laughed and insisted it was time for everyone to get up, and that's when Momo stormed out and got Jeongyeon.”

Mina listened as Dahyun continued the story, a smile on her lips as the younger girl dramatically exaggerated certain events. Dahyun had always been one of the funniest and most entertaining people Mina knew, but away from the cameras she was usually much quieter and calmer. This was a private show, just for Mina, and she treasured it dearly. With nothing to do but listen and drink her tea, she found herself thoroughly charmed by Dahyun. Her wit as she imitated Jeongyeon's voice and her own reaction, the charisma oozing out of her with every word, the way her face lit up when she made Mina laugh. Dahyun was a treasure, and Mina was suddenly very grateful that out of all the girls it was Dahyun who was sitting across from her, at 3am in the morning. 

Dahyun continued on with her story until Mina's eyes began drooping between her fits of laughter. She picked up on Mina’s tiredness quickly, and faked an exaggerated yawn. 

“I think I'm ready to fall asleep.” she grinned. “Mind if we continue this another time?”

“Of course not.” Mina stood up, placing the teacups in the sink and ruffling Dahyun's hair as she passed. She hesitated, one hand still on Dahyun's head, as a sudden desire overtook her. 

Before she could overthink things, she leant down and kissed Dahyun's forehead. 

“Thank you for the story.”

“Oh.” Dahyun's face was rapidly turning red. “Of course. Any time.”

This, Mina thought, was the side of Dahyun she loved most. Beneath all the charm and bluster was a sweet shy girl who got easily flustered. She and Mina were almost opposites in that way. It was easier for Mina to be shy around strangers and goofy with her friends, while Dahyun operated differently. Mina didn't judge her for it or anything, she just found the contrast interesting. Beautiful, almost. 

Sana would laugh at her if she heard Mina say that, but Sana was fast asleep. And back in her bedroom it was just Mina and her musings on how opposites can sometimes click wonderfully, until finally she tipped off the edge into slumber. 

By the fifth time Dahyun joined Mina for tea at 3am, she began to suspect this wasn’t just a series of wacky coincidences. Dahyun had always been known to sleep well, and now all of a sudden she happened to be awake at 3am when Mina was? Not to mention how Mina had heard Chaeyoung complaining to Dahyun about how her sleep schedule had gotten so much worse.

“It’s almost as if you want to stay awake every night! Why not just switch off your phone or stop blasting heavy metal in your headphones? Since when do you even like heavy metal?”

So when Dahyun crept out to the kitchen once again, Mina merely raised an eyebrow, pouring two cups of tea.

“Awake again?”

If Mina wasn’t already fully certain that this was no coincidence, Dahyun’s guilty chuckle confirmed it for her.

“What’s going on?” Mina pushed Dahyun’s cup of tea over to her. “Dahyun, why are you forcing yourself to stay awake? Just to keep me company when I can’t sleep? Because this is silly. I’m not that fragile.”

“No!” Dahyun’s eyes were wide as she leant over to take Mina’s hand. “No I promise you, I don’t think you’re fragile at all! The first time really was a coincidence I swear.”

“And after that?”

She could see the blush creeping up Dahyun’s cheeks again. On any other night, Mina would be distracted by how adorable she was. Tonight, she was just confused.

“I...I like spending time with you.” Dahyun mumbled. “I know we see each other every day but it’s always so busy. I like just being able to relax, drink our tea, and talk.”

Oh. 

Mina instantly softened at the raw honesty in Dahyun’s voice. That was a lot sweeter than she had expected. (She wasn’t really sure what she had expected. Maybe some conspiracy where Nayeon and Jihyo bribed Dahyun into keeping her company at night, but the more she thought about it the more ridiculous it sounded.)

“Dahyun.” Mina said gently. “I like talking to you too. A lot. These 3am talks of ours have made my nights so much better. But I can’t enjoy them if they come at the expense of you getting a proper night’s sleep. Have you made yourself stay awake every single night, all for the chance that I’d be up?”

“Not every night! Some nights I’m just too tired and I fall asleep by accident.”

Mina didn’t know whether to laugh or shake her head disapprovingly. Instead, she squeezed Dahyun’s hand and finished the last of her tea, ignoring the nervous look on the other girl’s face.

“Come on.” She stood up, tugging Dahyun up with her. “You’re coming back to my room tonight."

“I- What? I mean… Yes? I am? Why…”

“We’re going to cuddle in my bed until we both fall asleep, and then tomorrow, we’ll work on finding some free time during the day where we can just sit and chat. Deal?”

For a second she was worried she’d taken things too far, been too assertive. But Dahyun’s nervous expressions quickly turned to relief, and she smiled cheekily.

“How about coffee? Since tea is for falling asleep, coffee can help us stay awake during the day. I know a good place nearby?”

The next thing Mina said may have just been uttered to see Dahyun blush, but she had no regrets.

“It’s a date.”

Sure enough, the wide eyed, red cheeked, deer-in-the-headlights expression on Dahyun’s face was priceless.

Mina guided her towards the bedroom before Dahyun could start stuttering nervously again. With the lights off, and three other girls sleeping around them, Dahyun seemed to calm down. She smiled warmly at Mina as Mina climbed into the bed, opening the blanket so Dahyun could snuggle in next to her.

They’d never done this before, but Mina was well used to falling asleep with Nayeon, Momo, Sana and sometimes all three curled around her. Dahyun was shorter than Mina was used to in a cuddle buddy, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable difference. She fit perfectly under Mina’s chin, and she was as soft as a pillow. Her slow, steady breathing helped Mina’s own chest to unwind, and she found herself relaxing more than she had the previous nights, even with the help of the tea.

Normally, a major part of the reason Mina couldn’t fall asleep was due to worries about tomorrow. There was always a new challenge, always this fear and the feeling of uncertainty that kept gnawing at her, refusing to let her rest. But tonight, as she thought about what the morning could bring, she felt nothing but hopeful curiosity. She had a date with a girl who she might have more than friendly feelings for, and that thrilled her in a way that was more exciting than anxiety inducing. 

With a smile on her lips and her chin resting gently above the crown of Dahyun’s head, Mina slept better that night than she had in a long time.